Versiti Opens a First-of-Its-Kind Blood and Community Resource Center

By Karen Stokes

On Tuesday Milwaukee residents were the first to witness the new Versiti on King center.

Located inside the ThriveOn King Development in Milwaukee’s Bronzeville neighborhood, Versiti on King is a first-of-its-kind permanent blood center and community resource center of Versiti Blood Center of Wisconsin. In addition to the collection of life-saving blood donations, Versiti on King is also a resource center for families living on the North Side of Milwaukee.

Attendees had the opportunity to learn their blood type, meet Versiti’s Community Health Navigator, learn more about Versiti services, and enjoy free food, games, prizes, and indoor trick-or-treating. Tours and demos were also available for anyone who wished to further explore the new center’s features.

Mayor Cavalier Johnson and County Executive David Crowley demonstrated the simplicity of the blood donation process.

“The ThriveOn King Collaboration is meant to have a generational impact on the community by bringing essentially better healthcare and wellness to a community that really needs it. If you live in this zip code your life expectancy may look somewhat different than someone living in a neighboring zip code and for me and many folks inspired by this particular collaboration that’s just unacceptable,” said Chris Miskel, president and CEO of Versiti.

“The idea that the Medical College of Wisconsin is here with the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and Royal Capital, it was their vision, to have this space destination where we’re part of the community and able to provide resources for health and wellness. It was inspiring for us as an organization and we’re here as the healthcare anchor,” he said.

Versiti on King will provide valuable community resources including disease education on conditions commonly affecting communities of color, a community health navigator, and basic social services. Versiti also plans to create new jobs and provide skill training for their employees, including new phlebotomists for their donor centers.

“Versiti we take pride in saving lives and we’re experts in blood. Blood is really important for people who have sickle cell disease because their chronically transfused match really matters in terms of beyond the A,B,O typing, 44 percent of African Americans have this rate RO trait which means our blood is more likely to be a match for patients that we serve. So it’s really important that this community understands we can help each other by donating blood.” Miskel said.

Mike Schanen, Sr. Director Immunohematology, Transfusion Service and HLA Laboratories, explained how blood typing works, “We start with a finger stick from each participant to predetermine their ABO and Rh blood types, testing for anti-A and anti-B to identify whether they are A positive, O positive, or another type. Additionally, we also check for the Ro blood type, which is crucial as 44 percent of the African American population has it. This blood type is especially important for sickle cell patients, who require six to eight transfusions each month. Matching their needs with Ro blood significantly improves their recovery.”

Through advocacy and community outreach, Versiti aims to further establish itself as a trusted resource and agent for change for donors and patients in historically underserved communities of color.